Tutorial Blog » Graphic Design

Free Photoshop Shapes: Download Custom Shapes Sets

Barbara Holbrook — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:41 +0000

Photoshop shapes are different than Photoshop brushes, although some people use the terms interchangeably, they refer to completely different tools. Both tools will allow you to easily add custom elements that be stamped out over and over again, used to create patterns, transferred from one design to another, and stored in your Photoshop library for use on your next project.

The big difference between custom brushes and custom shapes is that brushes create a bitmapped element that is permanently painted onto a layer. Custom Photoshop shapes will add an editable vector shape on it’s own layer. This is especially useful because it makes it easy to change the color or size of your custom item should you change your mind while working on the design.

Adding custom brushes and custom shapes to your Photoshop presets is an invaluable timesaver. Today, we’ll help you start your collection with this list of 10 Places to Download Free Custom Shape sets for Photoshop. (...)
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10 Quick & Dirty Tricks for Easy Custom Web Backgrounds

Joel Reyes — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:00:09 +0000

Oh, the trials and tribulations of making your own repeating background. We’ve all been there, tweaking our pixels and trying to make the repeats fit together just right.

Here are the solutions for our background woes! Take a look at these Web sites that offer you the ability to quickly make your own. Or you can use one of the seamless repeating images available on the other sites, all polished and ready for your web needs. You may find some of these backgrounds to be especially inspiring! I know I have.

So let’s get started with 10 Quick & Dirty Tricks for Easy Custom Web Backgrounds.(...)
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Lust for Logos — 15 Sites to Visit for Logo Inspiration

Joel Reyes — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:00:59 +0000

We all have days were we just can’t get our creative juices flowing. What we really need is a good jump start that gets our imagination off again to put us on the right track. When it comes to logos, something so simple as a type face or choice in color can make everything flow just right. If you’re in need of inspiration, here are 15 sites that will get you going! (...)
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Software Review: Vertus Fluid Mask 3

Charles McNally — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:00:27 +0000

I was a little hesitant when I signed up for this review. A masking program? I’ve seen quite a few masking programs that were hard to work with, with steep learning curves, bad tools, poor quality and more. I went in to it with pretty low expectations, to be honest, so I was blown away when I encountered the level of quality in Fluid Mask.

Most of the time I create cutouts using photoshop layer masks and spend a lot of time zoomed in up close. It’s seemed to work pretty well — I thought I was doing a good job, and fairly quickly. That was before I tried Fluid Mask…

Wow. Just wow. All that time I wasted! All those images that could’ve looked so much better! I wish I’d discovered Vertus Fluid Mask 3 sooner. (...)
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10 WordPress Plugins to Monetize Your Blog

Spencer Spellman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:00:36 +0000

With the increase in people blogging, and especially the increase of blogs becoming authoritative sources of information, people now want to know how to make money blogging.

Before trying to make money from your blog, it’s important to first start gaining a following. Once you’ve got a strong following, you can begin finding ways to bring in a profit.

Below I’ve listed 10 WordPress plugins that can help you make money from your blog.

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15 Places to Find Awesome Free Photoshop Brush Sets

Joel Reyes — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00:41 +0000

Even the best of us creative types struggle with what I like to call “designer’s block,” staring at a blank canvas in your favorite graphics editing program for hours. It can be downright difficult to find inspiration when starting a design from scratch. I have often found that one great source of inspiration are Photoshop brush sets.

Depending on the type of website, I might choose to create my design based on a set of grunge brushes. Or for a more artistic website, I could choose a set of nature brushes. Regardless of what your needs are, there are places to find awesome brush sets for Photoshop — and they won’t cost you a penny! What’s more is that there are no limits to how you can use these free photoshop brush sets in your designs, it’s all up to your imagination.

Without further ado, here are 15 great places to find awesome free Photoshop brush sets. (...)
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25 Places to Find Awesome Stock Photos — Free and Cheap!

Joel Reyes — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:00:33 +0000

Whether you’re designing an artistic website or searching for images to post on your blog, sites that carry not only free but awesome stock photos may very well come in handy. Utilizing the correct set of photos for any project is key, especially if you’re designing an ad for a client, you should always put in your best effort as well as the best images you can find fit for the job.

Many of the designers I’ve come across like to download most of their images from 2-3 of the largest sites containing stock photos, however as creative artists I believe we should play the mix and match game that allows us to choose from wide variety of stock images instead of the same “old” set of photos we may be fond of.

Giving a project that requires stock images your best should include photos that are not only sharp, but clear as well. Here we’ll have the pleasure to visit a few awesome (25 to be exact) sites that’ll provide all the needed images to fuel any project, job, or site requiring stock photos. (...)
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15 Places to Find Great Fonts

Joel Reyes — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:00:46 +0000

Free fonts are used in a wide variety of areas such as web design, graphic design, print based work and more. They can come in very handy at times when you’re caught between the desire to free yourself from the stock fonts your PC arrives with.

The art of creative font usage is called Typography. Whether you’re creating a website, blog, business card, flyer or illustration, you can use fonts to artistically embed creativity into your design. There are sites that are gorgeous even without images, because they make use of excellent typography to get the point across.

Finding quality fonts can be a bit of a task at times. You may find a site with totally free fonts, however, the level of quality and variation may not be up-to-par with what you need. Here are 15 sites for finding top quality fonts. (...)
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10 Places to Find Absolutely Free Vector Graphics

Joel Reyes — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:00:39 +0000

Vector graphics allow the preservation of quality within an image. These graphics at times offer superior quality over the traditional (raster) image formats, such as Bitmap. This means that if you were to view a vector and bitmap image next to each other, as you zoomed in you’ll be able to see that the bitmap image will suffer from pixelation while the vector graphic’s quality will remain intact.

Here are 10 of the top sites where you’ll be able to grab absolutely free vector graphics that allow editing in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Most of these sites offer free vectors in several formats for quick and easy customization. Sites that showcase high-quality vectors can be a bit hard to find now-a-days, this is why we’ve done the job for you and assembled this collection for your enjoyment. (...)
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Use Infographics to Help Readers Visualize Data

Michael Alexander — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:44:09 +0000

I‘m a fan of GOOD, a site that is “a collaboration of individuals, businesses and nonprofits…who have been making a magazine, videos and events for people who give a damn.”

One of the things I like about the site is its use of infographics to explain complex ideas. If you’ve ever looked at an issue of USA Today, you’ll know what infographics are about.

Back in December, GOOD decided to sponsor a contest for the best global finance infographic as determined by an economist. Judging is underway. GOOD will announce the winner, who gets $500, on March 11. In the meantime, GOOD has been showcasing some of its favorite entries.

Here’s part one of a two-part infographic I like (click on the image to enlarge it):

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